about two weeks left so..

1. Be friendly to all the other PNM's. Ask girls to hang out during the down time during rush week. If you are open and friendly, you will meet so many great girls who end up in many houses which will broaden your social circle on campus.

2. Pay particular attention to the girls standing in line outside the house with you on pref night. Those will be your pledge class, your best friends, your future roommates, future bridesmaids, your friends for life. Yes, you'll make friends with the older girls and have a Big but it's all about your pledge class.

3. Unless you're one of the 100 or so girls who have a "perfect rush", you WILL get cut by one or more houses that you absolutely loved. It's not personal. We cut girls every day that nothing was "wrong" with (cute, fun, great grades, involved/ leadership, great recs, classy) because there isn't room to invite back everyone we like. Try very hard to not take it personally (even if you were a legacy!) and dwell on what you did "wrong" to get cut...you did nothing wrong!

4. Every day when you get your invite list, you MUST treat those houses as if they are the only sororities on campus. Because they are your only options to be Greek- not your favorite house that cut you. Girls who have the most positive rushes find a new favorite every day!

5. List every house you attended on Pref night on your pref card. This is called "maximizing your options". If you do this, you WILL definitely get a bid to one of the houses. If you don't, there is a chance you'll not be high enough on your favorite house's bid list to get matched to them. If you are not high enough on any house's list, you will get your #1 choice as a quota addition (you won't know you were a QA).

6. Even if you get your last choice, GO! That is the only house that wanted you and saw something in you that is perfect for their sisterhood. You won't initiate for a few months so you still have time to quit if you really hate it. Most girls end up loving their house and realize the GR "tiers" mean nothing in real life. One of the ladies who wrote a rec for me said she was in tears on Bid Night because she didn't get her legacy.....she was voted sorority president 3 years later and is still BFF with the girls she didn't want on Bid Night!

7. Don't say ANYTHING negative about any house, ever. You never know if your Rho Chi is in that house or if you're saying it to a girl who is a legacy or whose mom is the chapter adviser or someone who has their heart set on that house. Be kind.

This is awesome advice! Also, go with who you like not the rankings and one girl's opinion on this site of who is falling/rising/cutest, etc.YOU want to be in the house that wants you the most and you are most comfortable.

Last:

1. There are no "mistakes" when it comes to cutting girls during rush. We and our advisors check the invitation lists 100X before submitting it. Anyone who tells you that you were cut "by accident" from their house is lying....while they're trying to be nice (probably because all their friends liked you & they just don't realize how the list gets ranked and votes get tallied), they are doing you a diservice and giving you false hope that the "accident" can be fixed. Someone from HS told me this about her house and it was just awful!

2. Be realistic about who you are. The "tier" sorority you join will be very similar to the "tier" of popularity you had in high school. It's practically impossible to go from being the introverted girl with a small circle of friends to being in a house full of former cheerleaders and student body presidents. Knowing this can help you be strategic about ranking earlier in the week so that you allow the houses that fit you best to ask you back, rather than get caught up in being invited to top tier houses. Good grades and a rec will get you invited to most top houses for philanthropy, then huge cuts before Skit. You want to try to be sure to have houses in your "tier" on your schedule for Philanthropy.

This is all GREAT advice so far! A few things I would add:
1) Regarding cutting: Someone mentioned this above, but I want to emphasize not to take it personally if you are cut from a house. Cutting can happen for SO MANY different reasons, and if you were cut from a house it's probably not because they didn't like you! It could be that you don't have any connections in the sorority and we just don't know enough about you. We have so many girls going through this year that we have to make these cuts somewhere. :/ With that being said..
2) The way the system is set up, you cannot be cut from every house as long as you maximize your options! As long as you list as many options as possible on your pref list, you WILL get a bid. It is SO IMPORTANT that you do not "suicide", or single intentional preference. I did this the first year I went through recruitment, and got the dreaded call from my rho gam saying I did not receive a bid. Luckily I rushed again the next year and got the house of my dreams. But the risk is not worth it. If you don't get your top choice, keep an open mind and you may find out that you love the house. :) If you don't love it, worst case scenario you can drop and rush again next year. There ARE examples of girls suiciding and getting their top house, but it is the exception rather than the rule.

3) Don't put too much pressure on yourself to make friends during rush week. I definitely agree with what the first poster said about being friendly and reaching out to the other girls in your rho gam group. If you click with some people - GREAT! If not, don't worry. You will have plenty other opportunities to make friends. :)
4) ASK QUESTIONS AND BE PROACTIVE DURING PARTIES. This applies to everyone, but especially introverts like myself. :) We have a LOT of pnms to get through recruitment, and are asking the same questions over and over again. It makes it a lot easier on us if you are proactive in the conversation, and it will help you get remembered. Remember our goal is to get to know YOU. Somebody who makes the conversation easier on us will inevitably be ranked higher than someone who makes us work harder.

a word on maximizing your options- if you don't like a house later in the week around skit or pref, kindly let them know!!! we don't want you in our house if you don't like it- we want you to be where you belong and would be able to give your spot to someone who does want our house. if you don't want to be at a house just kindly say "Ive had such a nice time here and everyone has been so sweet, but I think I've found my home somewhere else" or "Ive loved getting to know your house but I think I want to follow my legacy" or whatever youre feeling. Everyone wins! It is OKAY TO BE HONEST if you don't see yourself in a house.

And just know it will be okay. I agree on not taking cuts personally and not worrying about what "tier" you are in. The fact is, regardless of what outsiders think of your house, you will make some of the most amazing friendships, have some great stories to tell and tons of memories to take with you after you graduate. You will be with these girls for weddings, babies, divorces, second weddings, new babies, etc. And in the end, no one really cares later on what tier your sorority was way back when.

the best idea of a house is the girls from your hometown that have pledged that house, and meeting the girls during recruitment. How they act and treat each other is important. Make a list of what kinds of girlfriends you want in college and see if that house is a match.

DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING YOU READ ON THIS SITE - especially if its negative. Unfortunately, as recruitment approaches some sorority girls will post lies about other houses to try and elevate their own house.

Just want to emphasize what PPs have said about sticking with the house you get on bid day, even if it was your last choice. I did not get my top choice and was in tears on bid day, but I PROMISE it will be ok! I would choose my least favorite house a million times before not being Greek any day!